Jokerception
by DarkMeditation
Summary: Joker and Raven have met. Influenced by a spell, he's fallen for her for 24 hrs. One night of confessions leads to his asking for her help in silencing the demons that lay dormant within his mind. Can she help him quell this beast before it gets out?
1. Prologue

(( AN:The following is the tail end of a chat style RP between Raven and Joker. A bit about the scene: Joker was hit by one of Cupid's Arrows…literally… The effects of which would wear off after 24 hours. But until then, he had fallen hard for Raven. The following is what happened immediately after the Arrow Struck for the second time.))

DISCLAIMER: Dude, I don't own shit. If I did, I wouldn't be on the internet.

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><p>The Joker: *AND HERE WE GO AGAIN* ...Hello, dear Raven~... Long time no see... *bites lip and shifts around, then moves in for the kill, arms out, lips heading for your face* I missed you!<p>

Raven: O_O; *casually sidesteps out of the way* Umm….Hi?

The Joker: *stumbles, but whirls right back around. He's a stubborn one. A chainsaw does NOT phase him either~* Oh Raven, don't be coy~ Please, let me give that soft pale skin a kiss~ *goes for her again, eyes pitifully hopeful. Yep, he's a goner |D*

Raven: Aahhhh Hey now… *Turning red, moving about the room.* You're not in your right mind! Take a moment to rationalize things!

The Joker: Oh, rationalize what, my darling~? That we were totally meant for each other? Because I HAVE already! Nevermind what the rest of the world thinks! *holds up hands defensively, and walks close slowly.* We could be SUCH a wonderful team. I wouldn't ever make you change anything, but you would still, STILL be a beautiful partner in crime, Raven~ I want to gaze into those gorgeous eyes forever~ I want to stroke those soft, beautiful, purple locks~ *is really passionate about this*

Raven: *Tries to back up even more, but runs into a wall. She inches her way down said wall slowly.* I really think you've lost your marbles, Jack. *Cue that deer-in-the-headlights-look as he gets closer* I'm not one for being a partner in crime. *Can tell he's passionate about this.*

The Joker: *slowly kneels down in front of her, eyes still staring right into hers. He really looks like he was serious and has totally lost it and even with makeup on and all, he looks pitifully hopeful and no longer a scary clown* Raven.. *softly, still trying to get closer* You COULD be. You could be a beautiful mistress of mischief~! Also, think about it; with me, you know I would embrace EVERYTHING you are! From all your darkest thoughts, your brooding nature, your curses and cures, all your woes..

Raven: *Eye twitches slightly, jaw slacking* I.. uh… *Awkward cough, still trying to move away. She could see the hopefulness in his eyes, and it made her feel a bit bad that this was all due to some anon.* Jack..this isn't you, and you know that. I don't want to see you getting hurt on my behalf.

The Joker: *Frowns slowly, looking absolutely confused* But.. Raven I wish to.. to love you.. I do. Truly. *And there it was. Some anon's curse had made the Joker say the L word.* Please.. give me a chance.. *his voice grew softer*... Is.. is it the make up? The hair? *suddenly he went for his handkerchief and started wiping his face* Will this help?

Raven: No nonononono *Raven knelt down in front of the man and took the handkerchief from him.* Look… What I mean to say is not that you are…well..It's.. *sighs. Oh man… he said the damn L word…* Jack, you are under a spell. These emotions you are feeling, they are not your own. *She looked into his eyes, hoping that he would understand*

The Joker: *And he didn't, he just stared at her. Those eyes so lost and growing more and more hurt by the second* How can they not be my emotions, Raven? How? I feel them inside me. I feel them just as I can feel things I touch, things that touch /me/.. pleasure, pain... Look, feel this! *He took a glove off fast as he could, and took her smaller hand, and placed it over his chest where his heart was. Where the Joker's heart was. like every other human's. It's beat was a little faster than normal.*

Raven: Sometimes…magic just reacts that way to a person, Jack. *She gives the man a genuine smile* It would seem that you're a bit more sensitive to it than most others though. Why, I wonder? *Her own cheeks flushed when he took her hand, the palpitations of his heart in turn causing her own to flutter ever so slightly. She really did feel bad… He looked so sincere, and yet Raven knew that come tomorrow, this would all be but a memory.* I'm so sorry…Jack…

The Joker: Jack let out a deep sigh, and a little fake laugh. "Sensitive, huh? Well, it isn't the only thing I'm sensitive to.." He whispered, and looked down at her hand on his chest. He picked it up again, slowly, carefully, and brought it to his lips to kiss it while he looked into her eyes again. "Don't be sorry, sweet Raven.." He shook his head. "I'm the one whose the fool, heh, literally." He tried to smile. "I'm so sorry. For /scaring you/. I'll go."

Raven: "You didn't scare me," She said, staring back into his eyes. "Overwhelmed, yes. But not scared." Raven didn't resist his movements, and let him kiss her hand. "If I hurt you, I did not intend to.. I mean that. I was simply trying to explain to you what was going on."

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><p>((AN: And later that evening, Joker requested Raven's company at the hideout with himself, Harley Quinn, and several other members of the Rogue Gallery. It was there that the Rogues initially turned from Raven and shunned her, not to anyone's surprise. If you were a villain, wouldn't you do the same thing?))<p>

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><p>Anyway. What happened was Joker asked Raven if her healing abilities would work on scars. Old scars…<p>

Harley, being the obsessive girl she was, flipped out. Claimed that Mistah J was trying to give them up, when in reality he had asked for her scars. Not his. But she didn't know this and just kept pushing Joker further and further. He eventually snapped, and attacked her.

Had it not been for some swift action of others, Harley would be dead.

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><p>After this ordeal, Joker calmed back down and asked Raven to join him outside for a moment, this is what followed that invitation:<p>

Raven: *Stands and nods, but does not take his hand.* After you?

The Joker: *smirks* Right. *leads her out, hands in pockets*

Raven: *follows close behind, still feeling the rising tension of the room* Why did you invite me here, Jack?

The Joker: *very quietly* Like I said, I wished to talk to you.. and earlier you said I could... and... *looks at the night sky* ...The night is young

Raven: True, I did extend that offer. *Smiles* So tell me, what did you want to talk about?

The Joker: *sways on his heels back and forward* ...What else..? This "curse", Raven... if it is what you say.. it will.. end by morning?

Raven: Ah that...yes. It should have lost its effect by then.

The Joker: ...and then.. what do you think? ...will I remember all this still..?

Raven: *She shook her head* I haven't the slightest.

The Joker: if I remember... maybe.. I.. I'll still.. feel.. something..?

Raven: It's always possible? But as I said, it's hard to tell with something like this. *Shrugs and crosses her arms over her chest* I've never dealt with this sort of charm before.

The Joker: ...myself...I cannot remember ...the last time my.. feelings ran this deep. And never before has it been controlled with magic or anything, which is why I'm wary to believe

The Joker: not that I don't believe in magic in general.. but.. clearly this "curse" is.. just that powerful I guess

The Joker: ...

Raven: You keep saying 'curse'. And one must wonder, is that how you truly feel about things like that?

The Joker: *looks down at shoes and leans against a wall* What else should I call it..? Look.. my forte has only been in parlor tricks.. never /real/ magic...

Raven: Not all magic is a curse, though. Something like this, while some might call it a curse, is nothing more than a temporary charm.

The Joker: ah... *smirks* I see.. see what I mean? It's definitely not my forte.. but I do appreciate magic, real magic very much so..

The Joker: ...but a temporary charm... hmm...

Raven: oh? Do you? It has its ups and downs.

The Joker: *nods* I'm sure it does

The Joker: I'll bet you've had many run ins with unspeakable things involving magic, haven't you?

Raven: It takes time and care. And for someone as inexperienced as an anon to handle it...it can have horrid effects.

Raven: Yes, I have..

The Joker: Yeah... anons... *looks real ticked at the mention of them*

Raven: Hm? You okay? *Glances over at him*

The Joker: I've run into a few lately who love voicing their opinions of personal affairs

The Joker: it's so frustrating..

Raven: Those are rather common. *Chuckles and brushes her hair out of her face* I normally don't get to many.

The Joker: hmm.. I noticed they pick on us villains more

The Joker: ...must give them a little thrill

Raven: They seem to pick on those that give them the best reactions, really.

The Joker: Ah..

The Joker: ...

The Joker: *which means basically HIM... |D *

The Joker: They like seeing me lose it, I think

Raven: Logically, I would have to agree.

The Joker: ...I guess it's time for me to pull myself together, huh..

Raven: What do you mean?

The Joker: To stop my short temper..

The Joker: I need to find a way to stop blowing up..

Raven: I used to have that problem myself. Back when I first started learning how to control my powers.

The Joker: ...Oh? Were they very difficult to control for you at a young age?

Raven: At first, I had no idea how to channel everything. It was always so frustrating, which would only make it worse, leading to more frustration. Heh.. A vicious cycle.

The Joker: ...Channeling everything..?

The Joker: *raises eyebrows*

Raven: Every emotion I have ever felt, must be kept under tight control.

The Joker: ...*mouth parts slowly in amazement* Every...? Oh my that sounds.. brilliant...

Raven: If not...then things could get very out of control. For everyone

The Joker: ...That is understandable, yeah... I myself, with my temper, my rage.. I have even... well, wounded very close people to me... in those times.. I really want to control this in me. To.. "channel" it..

Raven: If you're willing to learn, then I'm willign to help. *Wonders if this will to control things will tie over once the anon magic has worn off*

The Joker: You are..? *comes closer, starng once more into her eyes. He still looks like a puppy or something* ...Oh, Raven.. I would be so greatful if you could help

Raven: I'll... *nervous chuckle* I'll do what I can.

The Joker: *Can barely contain himself, he looks ready to.. to hug her.. but bites his lip and takes her hand, squeezing it in his and nodding* Thank you, dear... I will.. you will not regret this, I promise..

Raven: *Smiles and nods* It' sno trouble at all, Jack. *Returns the squeeze, looking up at him*

The Joker: *lets out a deep sigh* ...of course.. I think we'll have to keep this to ourselves, Raven.. neither the people I know nor the ones you know... would understand or let this happen..

Raven: True, true... I know for a fact that if Robin even knew where I was right now...*shakes her head and laughs* Oh boy that wouldn't be fun.

The Joker: Right.. and judging by what was going on in there *nods at the hideout place* Things aren't completely smooth sailing either. But.. *winks* anarchy is funny that way. It allows you to even step outside

The Joker: outside thhe bounds and revolt a little against even your own kind

The Joker: *shrugs* even if only a little

Raven: Yeah...

Raven: *Soft smile* I guess you're right.

Raven: Part of me...part of me hopes that you /do/ remember this. Just so that you can have a little bit of something to hold onto, you know?

The Joker: *nods slowly and smiles back honestly* ...me too, Raven.. no matter what sides we're on, I enjoy your company completely.. and I wish this will.. stay

Raven: Yeah, it's nice having calm conversations like this every now and then. *Smile widens just barely*

The Joker: Well hopefully, we'll be able to have more in the future..

The Joker: Perhaps on a certain day when we know we won't be needed elsewhere..?

Raven: That sounds like a good plan to me. *Nods*

The Joker: *shuffles around in his pocket, and gets out a little notepad and a pen, and scribbles something on it*

The Joker: ...here.. *rips off the paper* A personal number to call me, and only me, and... an address.. to a place I know we can meet and we won't be bothered.

Raven: *Takes the paper and scans it over before folding it up and putting it safely in a pocket on the inside of her cloak.* I'll be sure to keep that safe.

Raven: Thank you.

The Joker: *nods* I know you will... I... *bites lip and rolls up a sleeve, seeing the time..*

Raven: Somewhere to be?

The Joker: No, no.. just.. keeping watch on the time.. for.. you know..

Raven: Oh..right...

The Joker: Yeah...

Raven: *Sighs* It's a shame, really. You're actually not that bad of a person to talk to...completely bonkers, but alright nonetheless.

The Joker: ...I'll take that all as a compliment from you, Raven...

The Joker: and you are very sweet.. to give me even a chance...

Raven: Heh. *Rubs the back of her neck* I have no room ot judge anyone.

Raven: to*

The Joker: ...I wish there were more people like you around here... Especially with your whole... able to contain your emotions... I'm not the only firecracker around /here/...

The Joker: *peeks around the corner of the building they are by and up at the sky... at a certain spotlight in the sky*

Raven: What are you...? *Leans over to see what he's looking at* Oh...

The Joker: ...I think /he/ could use some "channeling" too sometimes

Raven: He is...*smh* He's a tough one, that's for sure. *Well duh. e trained Robin...*

Raven: *chuckles and nudges his shoulder* But hey..baby steps.

The Joker: *blinks, and then chuckles too*

The Joker: Yes, yes baby steps.. hehee

Raven: *Peers at his watch and sighs*

The Joker: Hm..? oh...

The Joker: Raven...

Raven: Hm?

The Joker: ...I ...

The Joker: I loved feeling like this...

Raven: Well I'm glad.

The Joker: *completely serious*

The Joker: I hope one day to feel it again

The Joker: ...

The Joker: this isn't turning out how I hoped it would

The Joker: *little laugh*

The Joker: with me... at least... getting a small.. kiss... before...

Raven: *she chuckled and nodded* That could be arranged.

The Joker: *looks really surprised*

The Joker: ...

The Joker: Well..

Raven: Hm?

Raven: *Smiles*

The Joker: ...*looks at watch... and then back at her... and then dips and tilts his head to gently kiss her lips*

Raven: *Barely smiles against him, feeling her cheeks redden. She returns the kiss for a moment before pulling back.*

The Joker: ...*hearing the city clock chime midnight as he pulls away, looking at her..*

Raven: *And she simply nods at him, wondering what will happen now.*

The Joker: ...*he smiles at her softly, but his eyes seem to lose that sweet love struck glimmer.. and although he keeps smiling, it's obvious.. as he nods back and sighs*

Raven: *Her own eyes lower after seeing the other's lode their shine. She turned a bit, preparing to leave. Unsure if she should stay now.*

The Joker: *speaks quietly* Thank you Raven... for staying, talking to me, meeting the others, and... *smiles a bit brighter* arranging to meet again

Raven: You're welcome. *small half-smile*

The Joker: *lifts eyebrows at her turning away* ...I hope our future meetings go well.. they should. Remember, tell no one...

Raven: *Nods and smiles* R-right.

Raven: Hopefully I can help you sort a few things out the next time we meet.

The Joker: ...Yes.. that would be very nice..

The Joker: ..Goodnight Raven.. i hope you have a safe trip home, too

The Joker: *gives a galliant bow*

Raven: Thank you, Jack. *Bows in return* I hope you sleep well.

The Joker: ...*very softly* ...me too. ...*smiles*

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><p>((AN: I hope you appreciate this little PROLOGUE to the bigger story about to happen. I'll contemplate turning this into Lit later, but for now, enjoy the show~))<p> 


	2. Chapter 1

Raven looked down at the piece of paper from the other day. An address had been scribbled down on it, barely legible. Jack had told her to meet him there. He needed some kind of help, he said. Help controlling something that was trying to take over him…

Normally, it would have been in poor choice to follow such instructions, but Raven, being who she is, was able to sense that Jack wasn't trying to trick her this time, something really was scaring him. She heaved a sigh and looked over the address again. "I have no idea where this is." But she knew where the hideout was, maybe she could find him there? Nodding, she redirected the disc of energy she was using as a means of levitation and headed for the hideout she'd seen the other day. "I hope he's alright…"

Meanwhile, Jack was at the hideout. But it wasn't really Jack that was mentally there. "THE BAT MAN GOT AWAY AGAIN. CLOWN LADY NEEDS TO DIE! JACKIE'S GOING TO TEAR HER TO PIECES AND THROW HER IN THE WATER TO NEVER BE FOUND!" It looked like Jack, but it didn't act like him. Didn't talk or walk like him either. This, was Jackie. An inner part of Jack's mind, personified when he cracked and let him loose. He was crazier than Joker, and about three times as threatening. The man stormed out of the hideout, snarling and looking around, TWO BIG MACHETE knives instead of the ONE little knife he almost killed Harley with in his hands.

The yelling was heard from where Raven hovered. She touched down in front of what she remembered to be the entrance to the hideout just as he came rushing out. A startled scream left her, and she stumbled back a bit.

Jackie whirled around at the scream, teeth bared in a fierce snarl, muscles tense and his whole body in a pose ready for attacking. He froze completely though at Raven, and tilted his head in an animal-like way..

"You one of the Clown man's friends.." He muttered, voice soft but growly. And the way he talked was almost like a child.

Steadying herself, Raven took a wary step towards the man. 'Clown man?' she thought to herself. 'Right…Joker…' The way he was glaring her down left her feeling uneasy and slightly nauseous, this was… She looked closer, trying to identify him.

The girl's eyes widened. "Jack?"

Jackie slowly grinned at the cloaked girl.. it was not a very nice grin.

"Jack is in here." he tapped his head, "He don't wanna talk to no one though. Jackie can have FUN now and find Bat Man and Clown Lady…" And then he brought the machete knives up slowly.. "..and anyone who gets in Jackie's WAY."

That was simply a warning.

"That's not…" Her hands trembled, she'd seen that grin before, old footage and pictures from case files. It sent a chill down her spine, and the warning was noted.

This wasn't right though. He told her that he'd wanted to control this. And what she was seeing now…he'd slipped. Slipped so far down. but how could she get him back? Raven shook her head and took another very careful step forward. She needed to think of something. "I'm here to help you…" Her eyes never left the blades, always watching, keeping herself poised on edge, ready to defend herself.

Jackie sneered, "With WHAT? Jackie don't need help! Jackie needs to GO GET THEM!" And he waved behind him as if the people he was talking about were there. Clearly they weren't. Clearly Batman had gotten far away by now with Harley.

And, thinking on that Jackie growled more "JACKIE GOING TO FIND HIM!" And he whirled around to start running off.

Raven held out a hand, surrounding the area in a blackened force field. "I'm sorry…" She wasn't just going to let him get away like that, not when he was like this. "This is going to be for your own good, Jack." The girl lowered her hood and took a few more steps towards him.

"I'm afraid I can't let you find them when you're like this." Robin would never forgive her if she just let this man go.

Jackie tensed up VERY much when he saw the force field go up in front of him. A huge growl left his mouth and he whirled around to face Raven again, eyes wide with rage.

"YOU! YOU DARE TO TRAP JACKIE? NO ONE DOES THAT AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!" He blew up and ran for her, the huge blades held high and his intent to hurt her deadly serious, despite seeing she had inhuman powers.

"Jack, I know you're in there!" She yelled at the man as he tensed up. "And I know that you can fight this, that's why I'm here. You asked for my help!"

Raven took a deep breath and moved to a defensive position upon catching his gaze. Her own eyes narrowed, never leaving his. She knew just what he was capable of, and she was terrified. But she wouldn't let that show. Standing tall, her hands glowed black, ready to create a smaller field if needed.

"JACK'S NOT AVAILABLE!" He roared as he came closer and closer and then gave a great leap off the ground to get to her, the sharp tips of the machetes shining in the light of a streetlight near by, aiming to cut Raven down.

Whirling to the side, she avoided contact by a few inches. Quickly back stepping, she assumed a stronger position, small shield-like barriers forming from her wrists. With a determined glare, she sneered at her attacker. "I don't want to hurt you, but I'm not about to lose here."

Snarling and panting now, the man glowered at her. And then he looked at the barriers on her wrists. His eyes looked confused completely.. But he quickly focused on Raven again.

"What do you want? Jack not here! Jackie don't care about Jack! Jackie. Wants. TO GET BAT MAN!" He raged, and in his fit, he threw one of the machete's at her, to see if it would at least do something and get him somewhere. He clearly only knew violence and rage, and it overpowered all logical thinking entirely.

Not expecting the projectile, Raven stepped to the side a little to slowly. SHe let out a small yelp of pain as the cool metal made contact. It didn't do much damage, but it did hit, leaving a nice tear in the sleeve of her uniform exposing the flesh beneath. Her other hand moved to brush over the wound; pulling back she noticed small traces of blood staining her fingertips.

"And I don't care about what JACKIE wants. I care about what JACK needs!"

Jackie was smirking at the blood he saw he'd made come from this odd lady. But when she spoke again, the smirk quickly vanished and he readied his other weapon.. "TOO. BAD." He roared and came at her again, ignoring completely the fact that she sounded like she was getting rather angry.

And angry she was. With a darkened and grainy voice, she spoke again."You need to learn your place, Jackie." The venom with which she spat out his name, her lip curling as she spoke, could have dissolved his very existence were it tangible.

No longer afraid, she stepped forward with one arm extended. The edge of her cape billowed about her ankles and her eyes had begun to glow a faint red. Her own anger rose within her; as she stood tall, she appeared to tower over the man that was once taller than her. The girl crept forward, dark tendrils snaking out from under her cloak.

Jackie halted as he saw her transform before him, his eyes noticeably grew wider and then narrowed once again. This was clearly not expected by the psycho man…

Her words reached his ears and another growl left his scarred lips. "YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF JACKIE!" He bellowed and ignorantly tried to leap and swipe his machete at her now taller form.

"You doubt me," her voice deepened even more, sounding just a touch like her father's. Her grin spread, almost matching his. The dark tendrils shot up at the man, wrapping tight around his arms and midsection. "Stand down, Jackie." All hope and happiness seemed to disappear from the world as she glowered at him, her eyes transformed into pulsing red orbs, piercing his soul.

The machete fell with a loud clank to the ground..

The man's pupils seemed to shrink, and his eyes stared back into that redness..

Jackie looked almost like a little boy now.. in her tendrils clutches.. his mouth parting.. his strong angry voice lost..

..Clearly he had found his match.. and his face slowly transformed from the shock and panic.. to lips frowning in a pout and his head slightly bowing..

like a boy caught doing something naughty.

"Jackie was just wantin' to play.." He mumbled.

Her gaze faltered for but an instant, watching the machete fall to the ground. "Good." She lowered him to the ground and shrunk back to her natural height. Raven's eyes returned to their amethyst color, though she kept hold of him.

"Let. Jack. Out."

Surrounding the fallen machete in a dark field, she crumpled it like it was just a little piece of cardboard and aluminum.

"I'm in no mood to play."

Jackie still looked pouty and like a boy even when once again he was taller than her. He turned slightly away, head still bowed.. his eyes indeed glanced the crumpled weapon.. and that just made him pout more.

"you people are no fun to Jackie.." he mumbled again..

And then his eyes rolled up and his body wavered a second.

And then Joker started, as if just waking up, eyes shooting open wide and his body straightening right up.

He looked around.. and then at Raven.

"….Hi, Raven." He sighed.


	3. Chapter 2

She loosened her grip a bit, but did not let him go. "How can I trust that you're…you…" She raised a brow at the man and felt her lip twitch.

Raven's hands were still shaking from being so angry, that energy still seething just below the surface. A few deep breaths helped quiet her inner rage, for the moment.

Joker sighed and bit his lip. Great. "I know you must've came here looking for me, because of our meeting, didn't you?" He said, and smiled a little..

"I'm really happy you did come, y'know.. And didn't wuss out on me."

Analyzing his words carefully, she slowly released her grip on him. She would believe him, for now. Raven still kept a close watch on him as she tore off a small piece of her cloak and tied it around the cut on her arm; she'd heal it later.

"I'm not one to back out of a promise." She said cooly, not returning the smile; her anger wouldn't allow that just yet.

Joker nodded, seeming to relax a bit, but obviously not entirely.. His eyes darted around at the surroundings.. Ah, good they were still at the hideout. He would've been in quite a pickle if Jackie had actually managed to leave the perimeters of the hideout and ventured out into the city..

He did not need that right now.

"And …Bats has probably taken Harl somewhere.. safer.." He spoke mainly to himself, eyes looking a bit thoughtful and troubled.. and then he grimaced a moment and shook his head. "I'm so glad he showed up. Jeeze."

"What happened?" Raven pulled her hood back and offered a faint smile. "More importantly though," she sighed. "How can we prevent that in the future…" The girl watched as he looked about. The way his expression shifted, clearly she had come at a good time.

"Are you okay?"

He nodded and sighed.. "I am for now… Harley isn't, though. She's been angry at me since I got out of Arkham.. It's a real long story, but.. Basically my doctor, Dr. Hugo Strange, brainwashed me.. and somehow brought out a seperate persona or somethin.. Jackie. And Strange gave him a mission to kill Bats.. and Harl tried to save me and Jackie, well.. He didn't like that.. Not. One. Bit." He sighed.. "And then now that she's pissed at me, she's made it her life goal to get back at me. She even WANTED me to kill her last night. To.. to prove a point.." He looked really upset after he finished.

"I really need to pull myself together before I accidentally prove her right.."

All Raven could do was nod as the man spoke. She chewed on her lip as she thought about what he was saying. This…Dr. Strange… It would take a while to undo the damage he'd caused, but Raven would still try to do all that she could. "I..got to meet this part of you, Jackie, today. And you're right. He's got to go."

A part of her wondered if that was even possible though.

"Don't think about things like that right now, okay? Work on getting better first."

Joker nodded "That sounds like a good plan." He smiled at her, then cleared his throat. "Alright, so about that place we need to meet… I think I can guide you there, if you don't mind taking an old junky van there." He raised an eyebrow at her. He knew she could fly, but they would likely get noticed by other folk if she did.

"That's fine by me." Raven nodded, realizing that he knew the way there better than she did. Was she a bit wary? Yes. But that was just her nerves from earlier. "I was having trouble finding the place anyway," she said. The girl shrugged her shoulders. "And besides, once I've been there it'll be easier for me to teleport in the future."

"Great!" Joker said and led her quickly around the back of the old theater hideout to where the van was parked. Thankfully, none of his goons were around at this time. They didn't live with him, they simply worked with him and lived on their own somewhere in the Narrows. It was quite a relief because Joker liked privacy as much as anyone else, no matter how dangerous and wanted he was. He didn't need them here 24/7.

He hopped into the van, waited for Raven, and started it up. As they started to drive off away from the hideout, Joker's eyes still wandered from the street to the buildings and sky around him. He was still wondering about Batman and Harley, obviously.. and for once the man was seen driving like a normal human being and not swerving and speeding all over the road like he was seen normally doing in a gettaway vehicle or something like it.

Raven followed closely, keeping a few paces behind him so as to watch his every move. Looking around, she climbed up into the passenger seat as Joker started the engine. The ride was calmer than she'd expected.

Quiet.

Awkward.

But what could she say? No more than ten minutes ago, a different personality within this man was so close to going on a murderous rampage throughout the city. Subconsciously, the girl's hand rested on the bit of fabric she'd tied on her arm. She had to be prepared, in case 'Jackie' came back while she was around.

Joker carefully drove around the dark streets of Gotham, sensing the awkwardness and wishing he could turn on the radio in this old hunk of junk to at least make it more interesting. He didn't dare look at Raven, he would read her like he always did everyone. only instead of using it to his advantage, he'd get aggravated and wish to try and clear the air..

But he really just wanted to get to business and work out his internal struggle before something happened again.

Hell, he couldn't even figure out what would trigger that.. thing. It wasn't his forte. If he had to GUESS though, it had something to do with what he and Harley had been sorta arguing about, sorta just him denying everything she..

He winced as her words came right back to the fresh frontline of his memory and played over again.

No! I won't! You can't face the truth that little Jackie turned out to be just like his father, i'd probably even say WORSE than him. You've killed dozens of people just because he hurt you. You are a monster.

You are so like him that you can't even see it! I missed the Jack that I had, no makeup but not Bruce's bitch. Jonathan is a better man than you, ten times over. Go ahead! Shut me up! but then Jackie will at least know the truth!

Joker suddenly came back to focus when he saw he'd almost SWERVED into the other lane just as another CAR WAS COMING! The car honked loudly and he quickly swerved back.

"Shit I gotta stop spacing out.." He let out a deep breath, and looked around again, not looking at Raven's judging face. He KNEW it was there, he didn't NEED to look.

"We're almost there.." He said for her sake. Well.. both their sakes.

Lost in her own train of thought, Raven stared blankly out the window. SIlently, she mulled over what could be causing the snapping inside his mind. He'd mentioned hypnosis…but what was the trigger? A phrase, scent, image, what WAS it?

'Well his driving is better than Robin's,' she thought to herself. Perhaps a little too soon though, as she was startled out of her thoughts b—

HOLYSHITACARWHAT?

The girl let out a rather loud gasp, her arm instinctively flying out, fingers grasping onto the fabric of Joker's sleeve. Her other hand rested over her rapidly beating heart; she tried to calm herself with a few deep breaths. After just a moment, she released her hold of his arm and looked over to him.

Trying to lighten the mood a bit, she let out a soft laugh. "And just when I was starting to think there was one thing that might be boring about you." Her forced smile faltered, seeing him so troubled as he was right now.

He shifted a little in his seat, clearly a tad embarrassed at his slip up. Raven's quip did reach him, and inside he felt a bit of pride finally come out from the depths of his mind, but it really wasn't enough to have him full on grinning. Not now.

"Here we are.." He spoke and nodded at the small building they were coming up to on the right. Clearly a closed down place. But the sign for what had been there was still up above the entrance and window. The big cursive letters were very faded though, but still completely readable. It just looked like it needed a good cleaning: Miss Shannon's Ballet School.

Joker carefully turned the van into the alleyway beside it and moved in at the back of the building to park. "I haven't even gotten to check it out myself.. but my men did come to.. well.. at least clean it up enough to make it usable.." He explained quietly, and then finally gave Raven a little smirk, "Well, at least to us. No little tutus around here anymore."

Raven watched as they approached the building, glancing around at the surrounding buildings to get a sense of a landmark for the location. At his words, she nodded. "Aw no tutus?" She returned his smirk. "But I was so looking forward to that bit." Raven realized that this was not the best time for jokes, but she couldn't help herself. It was in her nature to try and make others feel better, especially since she could feel their auras and emotions.

"At any rate, we should get started." The girl looked down into her lap, still trying to formulate a solid plan. "I don't know what triggers Jackie, which means I have no clue how long until…

There was no need for her to finish the sentence.


	4. Chapter 3

Joker appreciated her sense of humor very much. It was rather refreshing to know she wasn't completely all business-like. He usually got bored pretty fast of people who were like that. But he could tell Raven had some good dry humor and sarcasm in her. He really liked it.

He nodded at her words and stopped the van, and got out. He looked up at the building with mild curiosity as they approached it, hands quickly going to his jacket pockets and getting out a huge ring of tons of keys. Like a janitor would have..

Surprisingly, it didn't take him long to quickly sort through and find the right one. After all, he'd just gotten it the other day from his men when they'd returned and said the place was ready. His employees always worked fast.

After opening up the back door, which creaked loudly as it was pushed open and echoed into the interior, Joker immediately stepped in and looked for the line of switches that was normally in these sorts of places. When he found them, he flicked them on and braced himself to be blinded a little. The lights weren't that bright, but brighter than everything he'd been lately surrounded by. Everything was normally dark and dull in the Narrows. But this little chunk of area used to be a nice place for kids to come and learn how to dance. Who would've thunk it?

The mirrors and barres were still in the room as they moved in further, and the floor looked rather cleaned up too. Everything looked cleaned up as if ready for a new class to open. Unfortunately, that was likely never going to happen.

Joker rubbed his hands together and looked at Raven, eyebrows up. "So, will this work?" He asked.

She climbed out of the van and followed Joker to the door. Almost laughing at the comically large key ring, Raven pressed a hand to her mouth and stifled it to a low chuckle. She wasn't going to ask why he had all of those keys. Something told her that might not be a piece of information that she wanted to know.

The creakiness of the door left her feeling just a bit uneasy, as that could pose an issue with making quiet escapes and whatnot. The last thing she wanted was to draw attention to the place. Stepping inside after him, she looked about the room. Each section of mirror was clean, a few cracks or nicks here and there, but in otherwise good condition. However unnecessary they were, she was still fascinated by it. Her first time in an actual dance studio.

'Will this work?' Of course it would. Any place would work, this was just secluded enough to be safe. Raven turned back to face him and nodded.

"This should be just fine." The girl unclasped her cloak and hung it on one of the bars. "For starters, can you tell me how Jackie got out today?" she clasped her hands together and gave him a solemn look. This was vital to their success.

Joker sighed and slowly went to plop down on the floor and sit, biting his lip and thinking back..

"I most definitely think it was something uh… Harley brought up. Something.." He shook his head a little, feeling heat come to his face.. Oh god he had no choice, did he? This was going to be like therapy, wasn't it? Yup. "She was shouting about.. how I turned out to um.. be exactly like.. m-my father." He finally blurted out, his voice cracking once a little at the last word. He mentally felt the urge to scream and run coming on.. But he tried to at least seem in control and ready to do this. He had to. He HAD to.

"You're holding back, Joker." The crack and waver in his voice could attest to that much. What was he so scared of? There was one way for her to find out, but she wasn't so sure he would go for it.

Raven took a step towards him. "You can't just push this from your mind like you would a bad dream. Was it bad? Yes. Absolutely yes. But so what?" Kneeling in front of him, her face took on a hardened expression. "I'm not going to try and tell you that it will 'all be okay' because I can't guarantee that right now." It was the truth. She was an empath, not a psychic.

"But what I can offer you is a way to control this thing inside of you without suppressing it entirely. What Strange did to you, was unhealthy and immoral. Please," She held out a hand to him. "If you'll let me, I can go inside your mind and try to figure this out."

The Joker slowly looked from her hand.. up to her…

It was at that moment that he really, really felt like she was a very worthy person to him.

Here she was right inches from him. No chains to keep him down. No glass. No straightjackets.

And she was offering to go into his most intimate place.. His mind. The Joker remembered not long ago he used to take such PRIDE in lying about every single aspect of himself. Of everything he did and didn't do. Felt and didn't feel. And all of his lovely opinions and whatnot.

Now here he was just totally giving it all up.

….Could he make that step?

Could he let someone see it all?

And when he did, would it be too much? Would just a few steps inside make her flip out and leave? Run back to her city and her fellow mini heroes and even tell them and then once again he'd be taken away?

Oh, screw it. Think about it. This stupid Jackie guy is REALLY cramping your style ANYWAYS. You need. to. get. HELP.

Clearing his throat, Jack sat up straighter and looked much more serious now. Much more.. ready. At least that's what he was going for.

"No backing out now." He spoke, and wasn't surprised he was keeping his voice quiet. "No take backs. No tricks. No… just…" he inhaled and exhaled. "Okay." He said, a bit louder, firmer, and nodded at the young woman.

Then Jack took his gloves off, looked at his hands, and then finally, finally lifted his hand.. and put it into Raven's.

He was taking his time answering her, and it only made sense, this was a big trust-fall. Something that she'd only ever done under extreme circumstances. Raven smiled. "No tricks," she replied softly, meeting his eyes with hers.

Fully prepared for a 'no', you can only imagine the shock on her face when he reached out and placed his hand in hers. At last she would have her answers and, hopefully, his cure. She placed her other hand on top of his and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I promise you no harm will come from this, Jack."

Raven leaned forward and gave the man a brief hug before sitting back, cross-legged on the floor. Her breathing slowed to the pace of a person in deep rest and her eyes closed. Slowly, the girl began to chant. She would likely be in there for a long time, and needed to keep her wits about her.

Soul-self or not she could still be harmed, even in someone's mind.

"Azarath"

Deep breaths.

"Metrion"

Keep calm.

"Zinthos."

She completed the mantra in a hushed whisper. Her soul self rose from where the empath sat; an image of pure darkened energy. It turned to stare at Joker, eyes white and glowing. The image made contact with him in the form of placing tis hands on either side of his head, still staring into his eyes. The joker saw only a flash of white as she entered into the very reccesses of his mind.

No matter what she would find there, she would stay. A promise to herself, and to him. She would fight for him, and she would win.


	5. Chapter 4

Jack felt himself relax as she began and chanted.. His mind calmed.. all he could think was this mantra that Everything was going to be fixed. Everything was going to be fixed..

He saw the flash, and then suddenly.. everything just felt… Well, suddenly feverish and a bit achey… but thankfully it was gone soon after and he relaxed again and closed his eyes.

Inside Jack's head, it was.. well.. dim and dark.. and mainly looked an awful lot like.. the asylum's inside interior.. only the walls oddly had crayon like drawings and scribbles everywhere.. and splatters of what looked like dried different colored paint splotches… and sometimes occassionally a splotch that looked as dark red as blood…

Chains could be heard rattling, and the windows of the place were not barred.. but had stained glass like a church.. making up pictures… One was of Batman on a gargoyle, another was of Joker sitting on a throne with a crown.. and another was Harleyquinn, in a dancing pose and in her one piece jester uniform, but with the Glasgow smile he'd given her, looking rather happy with a mallet..

There were sounds of music crackling through the intercoms high up.. old show tunes and such..

There weren't any people in sight though. Not even the sound of anyone around, in any other rooms..

Such a dark place, she thought. So very different from the vast cosmos that was her own personified mental plane. This seemed so much more…specific…to the host. It definitely felt like something Joker would think up. As she stepped deeper into the faux asylum, Raven paused a moment at the stained glass.

Such an interesting representation of what she assumed to be his 3 main influences. The girl scoffed slightly, of course he'd be sitting in a throne. It was his mind after all. Even though he may not be in full control of his mind, he sure as hell wanted to be. This image was not really a direct relation to his image, but more of an aspiration. But…how peculiar it was for Batman and Harley to be portrayed in such a manner.

Batman, perched in that spot, a representation of how he felt like he was constantly under surveillance? Maybe? He did always seem to talk about Bruce in a way that made it look like he was being looked out for. She couldn't be to sure of that but it was a theory.

And Harley. Raven moved to stand directly in front of this one. Her eyes rested on the smile, wide and permanent. Guilt…he felt it here. For something like that to be shown, it was in his thoughts quite often. Could she be the reason he was asking about scars the other day? Most likely. Now the hammer she was holding, coupled with the grin it made Raven believe that Joker saw her as kin. More than that, actually. Her colors seemed so much brighter than either of the other two images. The contrast of the red against the cold dreariness of the surrounding room really made her stand out.

'Moving on..' Raven couldn't spend all of her time in one place. It would get her nowhere, and would likely lead to trouble. She stepped lightly, listening to the faint music and wondering what she would happen on next.

Peering into doors as she passed, the girl couldn't help but wonder what sort of things Joker had hidden away in here. And how could she find them?

In one door the girl stepped into, much louder, jazzy band music played, and there were PEOPLE… It looked like a big show, and there were clowns on stage, in zoot suits, playing the classy tunes and having a fun time. Only, they weren't just clowns.. they looked all a lot like Joker's henchmen usually looked like. The clown part was the makeup or masks they wore.

Meanwhile the people around the stage were also in snazzy suits or dresses for the ladies, playing casino games and what not, or just dining. And they all wore masks too. Some fancy masquerade ones, some just plain and like the ones you'd see at a store around Halloween for cheap.

In another room.. it was what looked like a therapists room.. With even a couch that many therapists used. The room looked rather normal. And yet.. the windows at the back of the room had an odd outside scenery of a field.. and a scarecrow in the middle of the field.. and crows could be heard even in the office. Also, if one REALLY looked, the plaque at the head of the desk.. read Dr. Jonathan Crane.

And then one of the doors Raven came to.. looked like a huge metal bolted door.

There was only a tiny window too, just like a door.. to a patient's cell in an asylum..

There was a familiar growl from within..

Also, engraved in the door was Patient 4480 instead of the number the JOKER usually had at the asylum Patient 4479.

Raven heard the low hum of…people? Was she finally going to come to see others in here? Slowly, the girl pushed open a rather elaborate door at the end of the hallway. Trying to remain unnoticed, she sidestepped into the shadows and made no sound.

Observation, that's why she was here. At first, Raven was rather surprised at the motion and noise in the room. When compared to the area she was just in, it was like she entered into an entirely different place. Then again, this was Joker's mind we were talking about here. Anything was possible.

Her eyes wandered to the stage first, as anyones would. The act and the music was a natural draw. She took note of how they were dressed like his henchmen, save for the clown makeup. Did he see a bit of himself in his henchmen? Or maybe that it was he hoped to see in them. Hoped to see admiration and obedience. At any rate, the show they were putting on was…not that well rehearsed at parts. An imitation of real life no doubt. They moved about the stage swiftly and with good control. But they would often cross paths, trip over one another, or something similar. Joker most likely knew about the lack of coordination in some of his plans, but he still kept at it…interesting…

After allowing herself to watch the stage action for a few moments, the empath's gaze floated about the room. It wasn't just the goons that were disguised…it was everyone. Each person was just a little different in the way their face was covered. Some had incredibly elaborate venetian style masks. It wasn't until then that Raven realized just how vast this room was. She levitated and flew a up a ways to get a bird's-eye-view. Her eyes widened. This was… This was every person the Joker had ever come in contact with…ever. Most of them were dressed up, neutral colors. But, as she watched, splotches of red began to appear in the crowd. Outfits changed in color from black to a deep red. Deeper than the color of blood almost. The music took on a gritty sound, and the laughter and smalltalk turned to low moans and sobs.

People that had been hurt…

Hurt by his actions.

The scene was almost too much for her to bear as the cries turned to wails, moans morphing into hollow screams. Raven zipped out into the hall and into the next door she saw.

Slamming the door shut behind her, the cawing of crows could be heard. But, she looked around, no birds in here. Why was it so loud? Turning about again, she noticed a window. That definitely hadn't been there just a minute ago. Walking towards it, the scene in the distance seemed to move closer than it should. Perspective didn't work like that. Oh … right… Inside his mind.

Sometimes Raven forgot that.

Taking another look around the room, she noticed that it appeared to be an office. Doctorate certificates hung on the wall, books strewn everywhere, and a small couch to one side opposite the large desk. 'Therapy, most likely…' she mused as she picked up one of the books. Setting it back down, she turned her attention to the desk. The light from the window caught a glimmer of metal, her eye naturally resting its gaze on the spark. A placard, Dr. Crane. 'So…Jonny does have a place here.' She wasn't all that surprised at that fact. Crane seemed to be the only doctor that Joker would trust anymore. How nice of him, to give the man a special room in his subconscious.

Having seen enough here, Raven turned to exit the room. Some loud noise made her jump. It hadn't come from this room, but it was close.

Walking slowly down the hallway, she heard the noise again. Much closer. Eyes widening in shock and fear, she felt drawn to this door.. '4480,' she thought to herself. Grey fingers ghosted over the cool metal.

Braving to peer through the window, she let out a loud yelp at the sight and sounds from within. Stepping back, she clutched at her heart and tried to steady her breath.

'Jackie…'


	6. Chapter 5

When Raven really got a look through the tiny slot window in the door, the growl grew oddly softer…and then louder again..

Come to find out, it was because Jackie was indeed in there, holed up tight in what looked like a padded bright white cell that had nothing else in it except a cot against the left wall and back corner. And the reason the growling noises changed quickly from loud to soft was because the young BOY inside was very restless and basically pacing around and rolling around and just moving about in anyway he could. And he even had a straightjacket on too. Not only was his age different, but there were other features that were quite different from the older Jack.

Jackie's hair was much much more untamed and frizzy and looked gnarly and dirty. In fact, it was a darker, darker color than Jack's usual dirty blond under his green dye. The length of the hair was much longer too. Going just a bit past the shoulders.

Suddenly, though, Jackie had stopped moving.. He sensed her. Jackie turned and came running at the door and didn't even care when he crashed right into the hard metal and jumped slightly, gnashing and snarling through the little window. And up that close, Raven could make out.. something very different from older Jack.

Jackie's body seemed to be COVERED in fresh bruises and scars and cuts. And the scars right on his face were definitely no exception. They looked very fresh now, and as if he could open them right up if he kept opening his mouth like he was, and stretching it.

"YOU came HERE!" He finally spoke, though the voice was very child-like now, but still a bit gritty. And that was obviously because of the fresh glasgow smile. "HEHEHE JACKIE THINKS YOU'RE STUPID, LADY! YOU'RE GONNA DIE! HEHEE!" He was bouncing up and down in place so she could keep seeing him through the window.. finally, he stopped and started walking slowly backwards away from the door, but still grinning at Raven as if he KNEW something she didn't know.. "Yoouuu are gonnaaa dieeeee.. you are gonna diiieee…" he sung softly, and slowly sat down in front of her view of him, at the back wall, "He's gonna getcha…" He nearly whispered.

Before Raven could respond, the music playing on the intercoms throughout the place stopped completely with a loud SCREEECH like someone had grabbed a microphone and interrupted the music.

"Jack, listen to my voice." Came a rather deep Russian accented voice over the intercom.

As it began to speak, the area/hallway Raven was in.. began to slightly.. tremble. Vibrate. And the walls noticeably.. crumbled.

"You wish to be a hero, do you not? Just like the legendary Masked Avenger Zorro, yes? You've always wished to be like him. Firstly for your dearly departed mother, and now for all those down trodden. You always have. But Jack, you need to erase Joker. Joker will not make you a hero. Joker is meaningless. You have Jackie inside your mind, Jack. He has been encouraging you this whole time. He is the hero you wish to be.. He is the one who needs to come out with those so-called friends and allies call you things like FREAK and MONSTER or even just compare you to your FATHER. At those times of distress when you feel discourages and no longer the avenger you need to be, you WILL let Jackie free."

The huge metal cell door started to crumple into itself..

"You WILL let him FREE and he WILL SET THINGS RIGHT."

"Jackie IS a hero.. Jackie will always be a hero…" Jackie was saying quietly, grinning and still staring straight ahead at Raven and the door that was practically destroying itself..

"You will be GOTHAM CITY'S NEW HERO, Jack. Let Jackie kill the BAT MAN."

The cell door made loud groans and creeks and slowly it buckled.. and then started to fall down..

"Bat Man is NOT a hero. Let Jackie help you become a HERO. For everyone who NEEDS you.. Including your poor mother."

"Jackie will make Mommy proud."

His lashing out terrified her, as she was a bit more susceptible to things like that when she wasn't in her physical body. Could her heart possibly race any faster than it was right now? At the moment it felt as if it would just jump right out of her chest.

That gleam in his eyes, pure malice. She could barely stand to look anymore. But she had to. Raven had to keep a strong face and look on this younger image of Jack, she had to understand. The first thing she noticed about him, after the almost killing her with fear, were those scars. She'd been used to seeing them by now, but never so…so fresh. The girl had to admit that the sight of them made her heart twinge just a bit with pity.

'What does he mean, he's gonna get me? Who is he talking about?' Raven hoped that some part of the conscious Joker could sense what was going on in here. That would make things a lot easier once she got out….

If she ever got out…

The instant shaking of the hall startled her from her own musings. It couldn't have been better timing if it had been planned. What sounded like a pre-recorded message, something sounding to be about the quality of an answering machine outbox, played over the loudspeakers. 'Is this what Strange used to brainwash him?' she thought.'It had to be.' Throughout the entirety of the message, she could sense Jackie's growing tension. His energy rising. Not good.

All at once, as Raven stood trembling in fear of this ominous voice, she understood. The trigger… Of COURSE! Why hadn't she just thought of that? Damn. But what exactly.. She had to stop thinking about what she should have done right now. She needed to pay attention.

Not only to the recording, but to the hall around her. More than once she had to dodge falling bits of the crumbling structure. Joker's mind was literally coming apart, and she could do nothing at the time other than avoid getting hurt.

All of the creepy people seemed to sound Russian… Not exactly important buuut… This voice, Mme Rouge, it was becoming a pattern really. Not important right now though.

That door! Amethyst orbs shot over to the door that all but buckled now. 'No…' If Jackie got out while she was in here, she would…Raven would… There would be no body for her to go back to, and she knew that Jackie would see to that. 'You're not getting out this time, jackie!' Stepping forward and throwing one arm out, Raven made eye contact with the grinning boy as he slowly stood from his spot; he was ready to run. At her. Even with his body bound, he could do so much damage.

Raven knew that once he was out of that door, there would be no stopping anything. The door… That's it! She didn't have time for this. Raven looked to the door and surrounded it in a sphere of energy. It took a great deal of strength, but she was able to un-crumple it. Footsteps…she looked up. Jackie… The girl was running out of time. With great force, she slammed the door back into place. Almost at the same instant, Jackie slammed into the door. It would break if she didn't find a way to secure it. Eyes flitting about, she noted fallen I-beams. Those would have to do for now. She used them, positioned them along the hallway, barricading the door in the manner that one often saw used by people in old movies and television shows. Imagine it like someone propping a door shut with a chair. Only with Steel beams.

After doing what she could to seal Jackie back up, she began walking again. Walking and thinking. Her mind kept wandering back to the recording. Jack heard it every night for so long…The girl paused, right in the middle of the hallway she just stopped and stared at nothing in particular. She then realized just who Jackie was talking about.

The reason she was even here.

She had to find…him. The ultimate form of torture for Jack, the means by which his own sanity had gone out the window. Raven had to find his father in here.


	7. Chapter 6

The walls were still getting worse and worse, and everything still slightly vibrated every so often. It might be just Joker himself outside his mind reacting a bit..

Raven soon passed by a desk in the hallway, and surround it on the wall was a huge cork message board flooded with notes and papers. The desk had a lot of papers too. Noticably on top of the desk was a crossword puzzle book. But it had been messily scribbled in just like many of the other papers in the area. There was also a purple fedora on the desk. Something that seemed really odd and out of place because the Joker had never been seen wearing a hat at all.. But there was a note on the hat, quick writing saying "Note to self: Ask Jervis one day to design this."

Coming up after this.. the hallway opened to another big room..

It was an odd circular room with simply MIRRORS EVERYWHERE around the walls. All of them broken, though. Broken.. and written on in red.

Bright red things like

I am a monster.

No I'm not.

THEY ARE.

I can't trust.

NO ONE TRUSTS ME.

No one understands.

HAHAHA ALL FOOLS.

All pathetic.

I'm above everyone.

I'm amazing.

I'm a GENIUS!

HAHAHAHA Why don't they REALLY look at themselves?

LOOK AT YOURSELF.

I see you.

Do you see what I see?

When Raven read that last written one, her own reflection changed. Her demon side shown through in her reflection. Her own self was just fine. But through all the mirrors, it could be seen.

He could see her.

Suddenly the sounds of chains came back again, coming near by.. but there was no other way visible except the way back…

Until the chains became mixed with whimpers and muffled screams.

And it sounded like it was coming from the wooden floor beneath Raven.

There was a hidden door.

When Raven braved to open it up.. there were wooden stairs.. and darkness..

but in that darkness lurked.. what sounded like many helpless peo—No…

They all sounded like helpless women.

Sobbing, muffling screams, the rattling of chains obviously being them trying to get free..

Thankfully, when Raven went carefully down.. she couldn't see them, they were obviously in the really dark areas. But in front of her was a path of light.. made by dangling light bulbs from the ceiling above her.. some slightly moved.. making the light move a little.. revealing sometimes a very feeble silhouette writhing around..

It grew colder and colder as she traveled further.. and soon, it felt like.. like someone was coming.. she was going to get caught here and in trouble for seeing this terrible, terrible unspeakable secret…

And then over all the women's cries, what could vaguely be made out.. was a child whimpering.. and mumbling something.. and yet that child's voice got further and further away again..

Just as the child's voice disappeared, Raven was finally at an exit. It looked oddly like a normal front door to a normal house.

And as she opened the door.. she was outside.. in.. a normal looking yard..

The child's voice could be heard again, still very distant, to her left..

When Raven turned, there was a barn next to where she'd just came from.

And where she'd just came from, turned out to suddenly look like a normal house!

The mind really knew how to screw with you.

With each step, she was careful not to upset anything. Having such shaking going on around her made it difficult to find her way. Something struck inside of her, and she hoped that Joker was alright on the outside. She hoped as well that he was keeping her body safe.

Not too much farther, she noticed the desk. Raven tilted her head and stared at it for a moment, believing this to be the 'storage' area for all of Joker's thoughts and ideas. As she approached, the hat was the first thing to catch her eye. As it was perhaps the brightest color in the room, she picked up the fedora to examine it. He was creative, that's for sure. Did he remember about the note he'd written for himself though? Depending on the outcome of this experiment, she would remind him of it.

Her eyes floated over the papers that were strewn about the desk and hung up on the board. Some had names and dates, others had addresses, and some were just scribbles of random combinations of words. All of which probably made perfect sense to the host, but not to Raven.

'He needs to learn to keep better track of things,' she thought. 'See this is why things go wrong. The plans are all over the place.'

The girl shook her head and continued on the path.

She would wish she hadn't though…

Very soon…

Mirrors surrounding her in the next room, Raven turned about curiously. She didn't notice the red markings all over the broken pieces, but soon enough everything came into focus. Her hands started shaking. It was like she was hearing these words…hearing the cackles.

'Do you see what I see?'

She repeated it to herself as she watcher her own reflection morph into that which she despised…That visage so much like her father's, that which repulsed and terrified her. Every way she turned she saw that face. 'No…'

And what was worse….

So did He…

Amidst her breakdown, the growing sound of the chains caused her to shake just a bit more. But where was it coming from?

She moved about the mirror room, and that's when she noticed her steps make a slightly different sound when she stepped over one small spot. Raven knelt down and felt the area. 'A door…' She was finally getting somewhere!

Dust flew as she opened the passage, prompting a few coughs. A child's cry caught her ear. Surely that would lead her somewhere.

The stairs were dark and creaky, but..that sound…it made her skin crawl. Wailing, moaning, cries. All what sounded to be women. Were they chained? They had to be… But..but why?

No.

She wouldn't look. Would NOT stray from her path. Whatev-WHOever could see her. They wouldn't like that. As a matter of fact, they wouldn't even like what she was doing now. She could feel it. That presence. It worried her.

Raven continued on her way, following the soft whimpers of the child that she was trying to catch up with. The door she came to was plain looking. When she touched it, she could feel a dark energy. There was something bad behind this door. And it terrified her.

But she had to continue. Raven had to push on. She promised Joker. She promised a man in need.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed on the door. Something shifted about the area around her. A gentle breeze caught her off guard. Wait…Outside? She looked down at the door; now just a standard house door. How in the…

There was that cry again! Raven's head snapped to look for it. The scene shifting once more. And again, as she turned, the atmosphere shifted again. The girl clenched her eyes shut and tried to keep her balance.

He was toying with her.

But it wasn't going to work.


	8. Chapter 7

The barn before Raven, where the child's whimpers and feet were last heard, seemed just as normal and plain as the house Raven had just supposedly stepped out of.

Except as she drew nearer, it wasn't. It really wasn't. Without doing or seeing anything different, Raven could just feel as she walked closer this aura about the area near and around and ON the barn. An aura that felt hopeless and sad.. forgotten.. unknown… unspeakable… Like a secret nobody wanted to know, even if it was right in front of them. As if the barn itself was the secret.

A barn that no one wanted to know about.

Why?

Raven would find out. Oh, she would find out right when she opened those doors.

Tools.

Scattered about amongst the hay and oddly books littering the barn were also tools that one would see in a… in a porn video or a movie of a hostage scene where someone would be.. tortured with things to tell the truth. Or.. just tortured for the hell of it.

And then a gasp was heard coming from a dark corner. Movement.

"Who a-are you..?" A very quiet voice squeaked out, very timid.

As Raven came towards the figure in the dark corner, his form became more solid. He'd just been really curled up there in the corner.

Just a little thing.. a little boy.. with dirty, tangled, curly blond hair, big brown eyes, freckles, and just an overall scared face at the person coming towards him out of no where.. A scared unscarred little face.

Jack Napier.

"Y-you're not.. not s'posed to be here. Nobody is."

She felt drawn to the barn. It wasn't a good sort of draw. It was the kind of pulling feeling that you felt when you were walking down a darkened street alone at night. Only magnified by about twenty times and thrown into the

There was such a strong energy coming from the barn. Strong, but so very negative… Raven felt almost threatened by even just the presence of it. It was a sense of malice, and with each step forward that she took, Raven's heart dropped even further and beat just a little faster. Practically shaking with fear, she placed a hand on the barn door.

The air felt thicker, was it getting harder to breathe? Or was it just her nerves? It was almost like a choking, there was a strong feeling that someone or something didn't want her to open that door.

And if she hadn't heard that final whimper, she never would have.

What she saw there, those…those tools… Her stomach turned at the sight. This was no barn…This was hell. Eyes flitted about the room, bouncing between flogs, chains, slotted paddles and other devices of the like. What on earth went on in here?

A question she was sure that she didn't want to know the answer to.

There was that whimper again, a little louder. Raven snapped her head to the side, gaze falling on a darkened corner on the far side of the barn.

'H-hello?' she called out, not wanting to startle the small voice.

As she drew closer, the figure's face became a bit cleared. 'A child?' She felt like she would be sick. A child…in a place like this… Her lips pressed down into a harsh scowl. Truly whoever was responsible for this feeling and the poor child's shaking was sick and deranged beyond all compare.

His voice sounded so broken. So helpless…

'I'm Raven…a friend.' Ever so slowly, she stepped closer to him. 'Not supposed to be here?' Her heart was racing even faster. Anxiety like none she'd felt before. 'Why are you here? Who are you?'

She knelt down right in front of the child and looked on his face. The hair color was a bit unfamiliar, but not entirely so. But those eyes…Those… 'No…It can't be.' Amethyst eyes widened as they locked on the water-filled brown of the other's. This was his face.

Raven leaned forward and cupped the boy's scarless cheek in her hand. Seeing the tears start to fall, she brushed her thumb over and did her best to offer him a warm smile.

'Jack,' she sighed out. 'I'm here to help you.'


	9. Chapter 8

At his name being called, the child's face seemed to become more alert despite his still timid and weak demeanor. "You… you know my name… H-help? What.."

He couldn't finish, for the area around them started to change.

At first, not visually, but simply the feeling of it was quickly turning into that of knowing that YOU REALLY SHOULD BE LEAVING NOW.

The area shook. The barn shook. The tools vibrated and clanked and the hay rustled.

The whole barn shook. The boards trembling.

And then the smell came. It was smothering and musky, sweaty, and stronger than anything a barn would smell like. A waft of alcohol, possibly whiskey or vodka mixed with the terrible scent and the panic to GET OUT became even GREATER.

But it was much too late.

Both Raven and the boy saw the barn doors SLAM open, making the area shake even more wildly. A whipping cold wind from outside, and pouring rain was happening outside the barn now.

And a black silhouette of a huge figure slowly morphed into the entrance, quickly taking the shape of what must've been a tall, muscled adult man. He remained completely blanketed in shadow, though, and slightly hunched. A familiar aspect Raven had seen on the Joker himself in the real world. But nevermind that. The form was moving.

The boy was drained of color and shaking before Raven, curling up tighter and tighter into a human ball in the corner.

The black silhouetted man spoke.. but words could not be deciphered. They sounded deep and yet muffled completely as if someone were talking with something tightly covering their mouth.

But the muffled words grew louder and louder, the smell grew stronger, the man drew closer..

He'd reached near by as he'd drawn closer and taken up a big, black, long whip.

It scraped and dragged on the floor. He was heading straight for Raven and the boy. He was lifting the whip, he was starting to make words from the muffled noises..

The form started to lose it's blackness.

As the man became more uncovered and coherent to Raven, his voice rose and he finally roared out clear as day:

"YOU LITTLE BITCH, I'LL TEAR YOU APART AND YOU'LL REGRET YOU DISOBEYED ME. YOU'LL FUCKING REGRET EVERYTHING, INCLUDING BEING BORN!"

Near the end of that roar, all of a sudden…

the voice became a familiar roar.

And the body of the looming man became clear as day in front of Raven, arm held up, whip raised high.

He looked exactly like the Joker.

"Yes, help.' She smiled down at him. Raven wanted so much to just hug the small thing and will all of this obvious pain and suffering away. There was a sudden, eerie calm.

Then it was there…

That chill.

And after that, it felt like a small earthquake. But she knew that couldn't be it. The walls and ground were shaking as if to warn her of the terror that was approaching. She looked around, seeing a few of the 'tools' fall from their hooks and spots on shelves.

She wanted to get out. Now. And she didn't know why. But she also didn't want to leave little Jack behind to face whatever was coming.

The aura grew even stronger.

Raven shook lightly, this aura she felt, it was like…something evil was coming. Coming for them. Her skin felt just a few degrees cooler, and she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand. 'Cant his really be h-' She couldn't finish her thought. At the slam of the door, Raven let out an audible gasp, quickly spinning to sit in front of the small boy. She stared at the figure, barely able to make out if the shape was even human.

Her eyes darted back to look at the boy behind her. He was absolutely petrified. But that figure, it was blocking their only exit. She couldn't just pick him up and run…

Maybe…

A noise jolted her from thought. The thing was getting closer, and now..now. It's shape was clear enough for her to tell that it was a man. And the low growling murmurs cued her into his anger. Raven's face fell, her own complexion paling slightly as she saw what the man was reaching for. She looked from him back to little Jack a few times. 'He won't touch you.' She'd make sure of that.

Her eyes danced about the slowly approaching figure and the whip he now held in his hand. A light tremor shot up her spine, fear attempting to make its way out of her psyche. Raven was looking for any defining features, so as to place the assailant. The way he carried himself seemed so similar to that of Joker…but…

And then her fear's were confirmed.

Shrinking back down, Raven clung to the small boy in a protective manner. Her eyes clenched shut at the booming roar of his words. She braved to open them, though, if only to prove herself even more right.

'Joker…'

This thing wanted her out of the way.

When she saw the arm of the other raise as if to strike, Raven jumped to her feet protectively. Eyes closed in anticipation of what would happen.

CRRRRRACK!

A pained and broken yowl escaped the girl as the crack of the whip caught her side. Fabric torn, skin under was reddened severely. Faint traces of blood could be seen. Raven clutched a hand there and staggered to the side, muttering obscenities and curses under her breath. She wasn't quite expecting that much pain…

The pain and writhing was even noticeable in her outer-world form. The unconscious Raven in the old dance studio let out soft whimpers and curled her frame slightly against the man giving her support.

And that's when the figure moved to go after the boy next. 'NO!' Despite shaking legs, Raven launched herself at the figure again. Joker's visage or not, this had to END.

The fact that this being of pure anger and malice shared his own image, is that how he truly saw himself? Moreover, was this what he feared?

Himself?


	10. Chapter 9

In the Real World, the Joker was fidgeting himself, even if unconscious. His mind was partly upset with what this THING was doing, and partly upset at what a stranger was doing inside there. But a strong part of him knew and still recognized it as Raven, and outwardly, he supported her to the best he could while also staying in this state.

In his mind, the little boy visage of Jack stared up at the newcomer jumping RIGHT in front of him and taking the whip in his place! She'd JUMPED at it of her own free WILL instead of RUNNING AWAY! The boy was very confused and very amazed and didn't know WHAT to do!

The barn was rattling more than ever as the Monster went at Raven again with the whip, and Raven TOOK it, and didn't back down!

The barn was shaking so much, Jack thought it'd fall to pieces like a house of cards..

Who is she and why is she taking MY punishment?

The Monster roared again and tried to GRAB at Raven, growling out in a deep unsettling voice that was now getting deeper and even more gravelly than Joker's.

"I'M GONNA SKIN YOU ALIVE LIKE I'VE DONE TO ALL THE OTHER BITCHES! I'M GONNA POP OUT YOUR EYES, TEAR YOUR MOUTH APART!" And then a brief moment, his visage CHANGED to that of a different man altogether, still hunched in, but hair short and buzzed, face unshaved and not covered in makeup or scars.. but those eyes were STILL dark and STILL cold. Same exact eyes. "YOU'LL REGRET DISOBEYIN' ME!" The man roared, and then morphed again back to Joker's image.

But in that moment, the boy himself sitting there watching, seemed to NOTICE TOO.. and his little eyebrows went down in such.. confusion despite his terror..

Who was the real Monster?

Biting his lip hard, he shook and curled up more a moment.. realizing he didn't recognize this current visage.. It had just RECENTLY appeared this way..

No, no.. normally the other one was the Monster.. Yes..

And the real Monster was...

The monster is not a clown.. the monster was..is.. uhh..

He grabbed his little head and whimpered.

And the whole premises shook around them terribly.

A CRACK went up a few walls in the old wooden barn..

"It's… it's not.. I-I'm not.."

In the Real World, Joker's lips moved and he mumbled out:

"I'm NOT a monster."

The boy's eyes popped open.

In a flash he was at his feet and ran to one of the tools on the shelf.

It looked like just a PADDLE.. but he held it up, and closed his eyes.. and suddenly it WASN'T a paddle ANYMORE!

The boy held a SWORD in his hand.

"Like Zorro." He whispered.

The Monster had grabbed HOLD of Raven's upper arm, and had her PINNED in a corner, and was leaning in closer and closer..

"You'll be ripped up like all the other bitches.. and left chained in the darkness to ROT.." The morphing Monster gurgled out, licking lips at Raven, raising the whip again..

As the whip started to come down, Jack slid between the Monster and Raven, and the shining sword took the whip, the black leather curling round the blade.

Jack scowled and scrunched up his face and shouted at the Monster, albeit still in his cracked little boy voice, "STOP HURTIN' MY FRIEND, AND STOP PUTTIN' ON THAT FACE!"

She wouldn't run. No. Raven needed to stand her ground.

'Protect….him,' she mumbled. It was all that was on her mind. Raven just had to find a way to get Jack to fight this, his own monster. Against him, she could not win. She winced once more, a second crack of the whip. This time the blow landed across her abdomen. A broken yelp filled the room, tears forming in the very corners of the girl's eyes.

Her legs trembled at the next lash out. Raven fought back the impending tears in an effort to keep her composure in front of little Jack. But damn it was hard not to cry out in pain; that thing hurt…bad.

So much so that Raven hadn't even noticed the shaking walls around her anymore.

And another cry out as she was gripped tight around her arm, pushed further back away from little Jack. She met his narrowed stare with a tired, yet determined, glare of her own. His words made her cringe. She remembered those women she'd heard…and her heart sank for them. This man, no, this monster was feeding off of her fear and intimidation. But his form…

'Regret?'

She wouldn't.

'You've no control over me!'

The eyes stayed constant, but Raven could feel the grip on her change as the body morphed between two forms. Was it trying to change on purpose? Or was it involuntary and not sure of which form to take? Who was the real monster?

A shiver shot up her spine at the threat. The girl was cornered, nowhere to run to. Not even room enough to move to wipe the spittle from her face. From the sound of this thing's voice… He was getting some sick thrill from this.

This was a very real thing, her physical body could feel everything done to her here and now. If he couldn't be stopped…Raven was going to get seriously hurt. In all of her worry, the girl hadn't noticed the movement of the boy she was so bent on protecting.

Her eyes fluttered shut when the assailant raised his arm once more. Another blow, and this one was going to really hurt. Flinching at the sound, she braced herself. And one can imagine the surprised look on her face when she opened her eyes to see Jack standing there, sword in hand.

"I'm NOT a monster!"

Those words rang out again, the little boy's voice firming up a bit. A small knot formed in Raven's throat. He was finally learning…

'Jack…thank you.' Her voice was hushed, barely audible even to the boy right in front of her.

She managed to wriggle away from the corner she'd been forced into. This was his fight, he needed to quell this anger on his own. But she would be here just in case.

"You think you're so strong. Dontcha! Well lemme tell you, little Jackie~ " Raven saw the boy flinch at that. The figure pulled at the whip again in an attempt to rid the boy of his weapon. "You're just a freak, and a nuisance. No home, nobody to love you, nothing." He sneered and reached towards a nearby bench, looking for something else to use against the boy. "Little Jackie's just a monster."

"Not true!" Raven barely caught the brown of his eyes in a quick lock when he glanced over at her. "Not alone. Not a monster…" He looked down, feeling just a little more courageous. The boy even appeared to stand a bit taller as he pushed the blade closer to the other. "I…am…NOT…JACKIE!"

In the waking world, Joker's own lips mirrored this with very little sound.


	11. Chapter 10

At that last shout of rebellion, Jack finally managed to pull the whip out of the Monster's grip, just as it's form really took hold of that of the man with the short buzzcut hair and the same eyes as Jack. The strong, military formed body took shape, and yet all that remained still unsure was that terrible gargled voice that was unrecognizable, just terrible to hear as it ROARED and the man fell to the barn floor.

The sword was held to the man's neck, as proper as a true swordsman like Zorro, and Jack's face, now fully determined and bold, no hint of the timid and fearfulness left, glowered at the adult man as he put one dirty bare foot on top of the man's chest as if to keep him down with it too.

"Raven, hurry!" Jack suddenly called, while still watching the man, "Run out of the barn, don't look back, and stay out!"

When Raven, despite obviously NOT wanting to leave the little boy, did as told and hurried out, she could hear a whoomp noise, like that of a flame coming to life.

Right after, a low mutter was heard, sounding deadly threatening.. But it was muffled by the time Raven escaped the trembling barn, and out into the trembling as well scene of the yard of the house still near by.

Next thing Raven knew, the boy himself had ran out, and just as he did…

The barn exploded.

Jack didn't look at it. He grabbed Raven's hand immediately and kept running, towards the house, while now dragging her with.

"We gotta escape this whole place! And I know exactly where to go!" Was all he said along the way, running up the wooden steps and up the porch Raven had came from right before the barn.

But Jack could feel extra resistance when they got to the door.

He stopped and looked at Raven. He knew she'd gone through this door, but he looked absolutely serious and self assured about this.

"Please, I need to go.. we need to go!" He told her, "Just trust me on this! It's the only way, and if we don't soon.." He glanced around as the whole area shook again..

He took her hand again and said "What you saw before behind the door was only the bad, but now it's time to see the good.. and escape…" He explained in his own way.

And then he pulled on her hand again, only gentler, and opened the door with his free hand.

It creaked open, and all Raven saw before her was… a normal house entrance way.

"C'mon, we gotta go upstairs.." Jack pointed as he started hurrying again and up said stairs.

There were pictures on the walls.. but they were oddly blurry completely. You couldn't tell who or what was on them. Clearly because Jack himself didn't either. Couldn't bring himself to remember.

And parts of the house were starting to blur too as well as tremble..

"To the bedroom.." Jack spoke again, voice getting softer though instead of the commanding serious tone he'd taken on before. The bedroom was clearly important in a different way.

As they got up to it, Jack only stopped once more.. He bit his lip and looked at Raven. "Please don't touch anything in here." He told her, his voice still soft.

And then he opened the bedroom door..

The bedroom of whoever Mr. and Mrs. Napier had been…

…It felt very sad and very unsettling. Not in the same way the barn had, but almost the unsettling and sad feeling when one goes to a.. graveyard.. and knows a few of the stones you see.

Jack had quieted and slowed down very much. He shut the bedroom door behind them, and then immediately.. his eyes darted across the room.. to a desk. A very prominent and important feature.

Mainly because it had a picture on it. And you could see the person in the picture.

The youthful but weak, weary and sad face of a young woman with soft dirty blond curly hair and freckles, and bright as the clear sky blue eyes…

"That's Mommy." Jack simply mumbled, as he turned immediately to the closet and started to open it.

When she saw the final transformation of the monstrous figure, Raven's eyes widened. The sound of Jack's protests had jolted her from her thoughts just in time for her to hear him yelling directions at her. She would like to protest, but this was not her fight.

'Oh dear Azar…'

That face, coupled with the roaring and snarling noises, sent a pulse of fear through Raven's body. He looked absolutely enraged, but for what reason? This hardened military figure before the two of them seemed to almost tower over them, despite his collapsing.

The girl scrambled out of the barn as instructed, afraid to look behind her to see what the reasoning was. All she knew was that Jack was right. The both of them needed to get out of there. Fast.

"What's going on?" The girl asked as she was pulled along, doing her best not to trip. "What did you do?" And then she finally looked up as they approached that house. Slowing, she pulled back gently in order to prolong going back through that door, obviously an annoyance to the boy.

He sounded so scared, so sincere, and she felt like she could actually trust him. Raven swallowed hard and nodded.

It had taken that extra tug to actually get her to cross that threshold. Having already been in there once, Raven had no intention of going back into that wretched hallway. But, at Jack's assurance, and for fear that the very ground was collapsing beneath her, the girl complied and followed him. To her surprise, the house was indeed just that. A house. It seemed to almost be an entirely separate plane from the field outside. An eerie calm, really.

"Where?" She hadn't noticed his talking, the boy's voice had gone so quiet that she could barely hear him. Still, she nodded and followed his lead.

Up the stairs and down the hall, Raven let her eyes wander around the lace, looking for anything that might be of interest. But to her discovery, it still appeared to be an ordinary house. No tools like in the barn, no crazy notes like there were out on the Joker's desk.

She did, however, note the blurred photographs. She was in Joker's memory, and it was common for people to forget such things as the faces in a photograph. The girl had zero expectations of seeing any full focused images in the residence. As the two continued on their way, Raven noticed that the walls themselves seemed to fade, as if the memory itself was being forced away. Then the tremors started again.

Not a moment too soon, Jack stopped outside the door to a room.

"Don't touch anything," he said. A standard request, so Raven nodded.

What she saw there would shock her completely. The first thing she noticed was the large desk on the far wall of the room. While still obeying the boy's one request, she made her way over to it and just found herself staring. The picture, it was completely clear, almost lifelike. Her eyes looked to sad, and yet, so loving. 'Mommy?' she repeated in her mind.

"She's beautiful…"

If this was truly Jack's mother, and she was this prominent in his mind, then she would like to know more about her. But that would be best saved for another day.

"Jack," she said in a tone as soft as his. "Why did you bring me in here?"

"Because," Jack said, grunting, tugging and pulling, struggling a bit with the closet door, "thi-this is… the only.. *grunt* safe way out and.. to a safer place I KNOW. A place that's kinda.. uh.. new around here.. but very safe."

The door still wouldn't budge. Jack huffed, backing up a bit and frustratingly scratching his wild, dark dirty blond hair. "Why is it so hard to open all a' sudden? It doesn't even have a lock!"

The room, despite being the most focused and prominent place in this area of Joker mind, began to tremble now itself.


	12. Chapter 11

Jack looked around quickly, eyes looking a bit worried. "Oh no oh no. C'mon, c'mon, PLEASE OPEN!" He cried, going back to frantically tugging. "If this safe place collapses then—then—UGHH YOU BIG DUMMY!" He shouted at the ceiling for some reason, "LET. US. GO. THROUUUGHH!"

Finally, the door SWUNG open, and a cold chilly breeze hit them. The same familiar cold breeze that had been out in the Narrows on that street, where Raven had began this journey completely, and found Jackie running loose in Jack's body outside his old abandoned Theater hideout.

"YES! Now c'mon!" Little Jack cried, and grabbed Raven's hand again, quickly running through.

The door squeaked shut, as if it wasn't a closet door, but another kind entirely..

And if Raven looked back… It WAS.

It was the back entrance to the Theater hideout.

They were in Gotham City.

And little Jack Napier was leading Raven to somewhere else, not the Theater itself, but somewhere in this big city, that was INDEED completely imbedded into the Joker's mind.

As they ran and ran, and got out of the Narrows completely, and into a more populated looking place.. Indeed people started to show up.

But they didn't seem to even notice the little scarred boy and the Titan girl racing along in the middle of the road.

Everyone in this Gotham City seemed… just like the people in that one room! They all wore masks. Some a bit fancy. Some just a quick paint job of some sort. Some just a very plain mask of some kind.

But there was one thing that made them a bit different than the ones in that room, who'd been so alive and colorful, laughing and partying…

They all looked dimly colored and drained-like.

Like mindless drones.

Her eyes remained focused on the picture a moment longer, she was just so lost i the woman's eyes. So soft, so sad, so…lost for words. Her heart fell for the poor woman, clearly she'd deserved so much more than all of this. Just as Jack did.

Jack…

He was talking, mumbling about something. And then Raven caught the ends of a few words.

"Wait, there's a way out?" She asked, turning to face him. Seeing him struggle, she walked around to stand closer to him.

When she noticed him yelling at the ceiling, she chuckled. 'A little compliance, Joker?' she thought with the hope that he wouldn't hold them back from the much needed escape.

The empath felt the room begin to shake, and she grew worried too. Little Jack's frustrated cries only made her fear even more. "Hey do you need a hand?" Raven reached out, but before she could get any closer, he had the door open and was grabbing at her wrist.

Raven winces at the sudden chill of the wind, her cape flaring out as she's dragged along behind the boy. But.. What appeared from the outside to be a closet, when she turned to look back, all she saw was that very same door Jackie'd burst through. Her heart raced at the thought, would she have to deal with that again?

Not here, she remembered where she was. Right.

He pulled her along, and she looked around them. Gotham. Of course this would be here. Where else would his mind go, most of the time? The city seemed to be one of the clearest things she'd seen here. Well…save for that picture.

She hated being back in the Narrows, so it was a much appreciated relief when the two entered into a bit of a more friendly area. Their steps echoed int he uncommonly quiet city, coupled with the heavy breaths both of them were churning out due to their speed.

Taking note of the buildings, she tried to place where their location would be in the outer world version of the city. But having only arrived in Gotham recently, she was lost. "Where are we going, Jack?" Raven's eyes wandered around. At first she tried apologizing to the occasional person or two that the pair would knock into in their hurry, but she noticed how none of them seemed to care.

Soon enough, the apologies stopped, and Raven just focused on not tripping over her own feet. Had she known their destination, she would have gladly flown them.

She couldn't help but notice how these people here had masks on too. Nowhere near as extravagant as the ones inside the casino showroom. Clearly the faces in the every day crowd were of no interest. Even their crudely smudged on masks would attest to that.

Raven huffed out a sigh and followed the boy close as they turned the corner. The two ran a little faster. Were they close to their destination? Raven wasn't sure…

Lo and behold, little Jack came to a slow stop at the base of a taller building. Trying to catch her breath, Raven stared up at the building.

"Wh…" a soft pant was let out. "Where are we?"


	13. Chapter 12

Jack was panting too, but he wasn't exhausted completely. He looked very, very happy.

"Where I know I'll be SAFE and everything will be BETTER again! And that mean ol' doctor guy won't get me, and that Jackie guy in here won't get me, and I can stay with him!" His voice was nearly a higher pitch as he clapped his hands and stared up at the tall building…

It was rather.. bright and colorful compared to every other building and person and everything around it.

Jack immediately went in, grinning at everything.. even though it looked like such a normal fancy building in the real world. Nothing imaginary or fictional that would pop up into Jack's head and make things wild beyond belief. It was just the way this place was in the real world.

He went to an elevator and automatically pressed a button. He knew where he was going all the way through. As soon as the elevator opened and they stepped in, and the doors closed, a song started playing on the speakers. But, it wasn't the annoying music only known as obviously "elevator music".

It was Frank Sinatra!

Jack hummed along, nodding his head and leaning against the wall of the elevator, eyes closed in pure happiness.

And the elevator went automatically up without him choosing a floor, as if the elevator knew where to go, as if there was only ONE destination! Well, in Jack's head, there was.

Almost instantly, Raven could feel the difference in his attitude. He was purely happy. A sense of calmness returned to her, the first time since arriving in Joker's head. As the two of them walked into the building, she noticed everything, every detail was crystal clear,

"Safe?"It relaxed her, seeing little Jack like this. Because this reaction meant that out there in the real world, Joker had a real happy place to go to. "Sounds like a plan to me." Something that everyone needs every now and then. She heaved a sigh, realizing that the ordeal in the barn was now well behind them.

Progress.

Hopefully things would just fall into place from here on out.

Raven smiled down at the boy and gripped his hand tight as he lead her towards the elevator. There was so much noise in this building, bright colors too, it really was his little oasis in the city, wasn't it? She nodded to herself and sighed as the elevator doors closed. The tune in the background was familiar, but she couldn't place it… At least, not until that smooth crooner's voice came over the speakers.

"Hmmmm.." She hummed softly, closing her eyes and just listening to the sound. "You like Sinatra… Never knew that about you."

Then the music stopped, the elevator had come to a halt and the doors slid open. "Lead the way, Jack." Raven urged the boy out, following close behind.

Jack giggled as he happily did lead the way, right to the only door in the hallway up here. Even thought surly in real life, this building had plenty more places and people living in it.

In Jack's mind, there was only one thing in this building that mattered.

He went right through the door, and beamed when they walked into a beautiful penthouse apartment. So clean and warm, white soft couches and big windows that covered the entire back walls, and completely looked out at Gotham City..

"This is like… my second home." Jack sighed happily, and went to the windows to gaze out at the gorgeous view.

He turned back to look at Raven, and smiled sweetly to her. "I'm much more safe here, especially with him here to protect me! Thank you so much, Raven, for helping me finally get to here! …You're really awesome." His freckled face blushed a little, but he kept grinning at her.

They stepped inside, and Raven felt instantly calmed. She could understand why Jack would feel safe here.

"Jack, this place is amazing." She looked around and walked to the window, looking out over the city. "Are you alright?" Raven glanced back over her shoulder. She would make sure the boy was safe, one hundred percent, before she left.

When he nodded, Raven walked back over to him and pulled him into a tight hug. "You're not alone, Jack." she said softly. "Keep fighting your inner demons, you'll be just fine."

Raven pulled back and looked him in the eyes, smiling. "I promise." She kissed his forehead and stood back up. After taking a seat on the couch, she heaved a heavy sigh. "I have to get back now… It was nice, meeting you."

The girl pulled her legs up and crossed them under her. "Take care, please." The girl began her slow chant, feeling her soul self return to the outer world.

Little Jack blushed even more at the kiss, but kept smiling and as she sat down and started to disappear, Jack watched her and waved goodbye. He had that big goofy grin on until she left completely.


	14. Chapter 13

Back into the Dance Studio, the real Jack felt a shudder and another wave of fevering heat go through him as Raven left his mind.

Once she was back in her body, he slowly fluttered his eyes open, and as he really came into focus and everything sunk in, he realized his arm was around her, and to her back, holding it supportingly, all this time, as they had stayed close and in his mind had gone through hell.

Now that everything was resolved, and they had gone through so much in his head to resolve it, it felt like… a journey had been made together, instead of just sitting there on the floor for.. Wow, who knew how long? Jack couldn't.. even figure that out.

He was a bit overwhelmed, and a bit disoriented, but never the less, he felt… happy. Very, very happy.

The girl stirred, her head reeling. Raven sighed and shook her head, managing to look up at her friend.

Right. She would definitely call him friend after all that had just happened. Raven felt like she could really trust him. After all, he'd trusted her enough to let her into his mind. Feeling her senses return to her, Raven sat up straight and grinned.

"Some trip, huh?" She stretched her arms out, a slight yawn escaping her. "Any idea how long that took?"

Jack stretched as well, cracking his back and neck, grimacing a bit. "Yeah, I feel like I've been sitting there for hours.."

He looked around where he sat but saw no clock anywhere in the nearly empty building. Figures. So he thought, you know, he'd just stand up and go to the window to see…

And as soon as he tried to get up, he flopped over, kissing the floor with his face.

"Ow." He mumbled into the floor. "My legs don't wanna work."

"Pfft!" A hand flew to cover her mouth, stifling laughter. "Always the graceful one, I see," she replied, pushing herself up.

Lo and behold, her own legs didn't wand to cooperate all too well either, so she stumbled a bit as she walked forward. "Need a hand?" Raven held a hand down to him and smiled.

Jack sighed and took her head, letting the empath help him up. He groaned, "Thanks… I think I need a new pair of legs, is what I need." He joked, but managed to stay up this time, as he wandered over to the wide window at the front of the building and near the front door.

He looked out, tilting his head to see the sky above the buildings outside, and made a little "Hmm" sound. "Looks like it's.. almost dawn to me.." He looked over at Raven, eyebrows up. "We've been here all night!"

All night? Wow… She hadn't realized it would take that long. Normally her own sessions lasted an hour tops. Then again, she did cover quite a bit of ground in there. "Man.. I hope nobody's looking for me." She moved to stand at his side and look outside as well.

The girl crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "So…" she mused as she looked over at him. "What now?"

Jack sighed too, "Well.." He shrugged a little, "nothing else to do but "close shop" as it were." He seemed thoughtful and a bit quieter, thinking to himself about.. going back to that hideout.. going back to the hideout which felt also just as bit as cold and empty.. as this place felt right now.

"I have a lot to think about now, don't I?" He mumbled, as he turned quietly, putting hands in his pockets, and walked slowly for the back exit they had came through last night. He also saw Raven's cloak still hanging on one of those barres by the old mirrors.

He came over to the mirrors himself and looked at his surprisingly exhausted looking face. His hair a bit more wild, likely from that thing being out, and dark bags under his eyes…

But he didn't feel that exhausted. More like.. he felt.. relief and relaxation coursing through him.

And he had a pretty good idea.. what he wanted to do. Soon, perhaps tomorrow after some good rest. Yes.

He looked at Raven getting her cloak back on, and after she did, he came up.. and he hugged her.

"Thank you, so much, Raven…"

When the man hugged her, she closed her eyes and raised her arms so that she might return the gesture. The image seemed so reversed from what she'd just experienced. Well, height wise, anyway. It made her laugh a bit on the inside.

"No thanks needed, Jack."

Raven felt physically drained. It took a lot for her to maintain her soul self for an extended period of time. She tried to hide the shaking of her legs, as she would easily be able to port back to the tower regardless of that.

"If you ever need anyone to talk to, I'm here." she said as she gave him one final squeeze.

As the two parted ways, Raven turned back to look at the man as he was getting into his van. She smiled and nodded before teleporting herself out of there and back into the calm quiet of her room.

Tired, so very tired, the girl slumped onto her bed and passed out almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. The last image that would pass through her mind would be that image of little jack, smiling up at her with so much gratitude and adoration. She'd have to try and remember that face the next time she saw Joker.

All in all it was a success, though. A very productive day indeed.


End file.
